Great Debate
by Ivy Lace
Summary: draco and hermoine deside to have a school wide debate to settle their differances once and for all
1. Encounter in the Dungeon

Title: Great Debate

Rating: k+

Disclaimer: I clearly borrowed the characters and setting from the famed J K Rowling.

A/N: Hello, Audience …. This is my first excursion into the world of fan fiction so any assistance would enhance the experience of the story. Greatly. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Chapter One:

Encounter in the Dungeons

Granger, in her fuming anger, could barely restrain herself from committing a violent attack on a certain slytherin. This particular slytherin , however, saw the biting rage oozing out of Granger's very being. He thought of himself as an intelligent and superior being and therefore he knew not to press the issue any further. Instead, a classic smirk developed over his otherwise straitlaced mouth. A trait his father would have been proud of if he ever noticed his son. "well well it looks like granger here has a passion for something other than elf rights. (Crabbe and Goyle snicker behind Draco) how about this granger, you and I have a debate in front of the entire school about the growing strain that muggle-born and half breeds have on the wizarding community in general and Hogwarts in particular."

His smug look enraged Granger even more, however, a new thought occurred to Hermione. _This is a civilized way to end their bickering once and for all. _"Very well but let us also stipulate that no matter who wins, and the winner will be me, we will speak of this no longer **_EVER_**. Got that _Malfoy?"_

" Naturally I catch everything."

" Not a snitch"

" Is that a challenge cause you have seen me in action Granger and should know my abilities to catch a snitch." Malfoy in his pureblood arrogance leaned forward and whispered in Hermoine's ear "Unless what you desire concerns my performance I will generously give you a private viewing." Stepping back he signaled to his two goons and sauntered off., his robes billowing in a manner rivaling that of Prof. Snape.

_What just happened? _thought Hermione. _Did Malfoy just think up something intelligent. Granted he does hold second place in Hog warts , comes up with catchy and annoying chants and his practical jokes are imaginative. **Wait! **Did I _just _compliment Malfoy? Ewwwwwww _

Once Hermione calmed down from the latest in a long line of bickering with Malfoy, she went to the great hall to eat lunch with her best friends Ron and Harry. They as always stuffed their faces silly and complained about either professors, the war or quiddittch, or worse all three at once. Hermione let them have their traditional lunchtime conversation without interference, allowing herself to contemplate what had just occurred. She in her opinion looked at that suicidal soon to be death eater who was sitting at the Slytherin table. Her mind wandered back to earlier when she had run into Malfoy and his two bodyguard goons in the dungeons.

She hated the dungeons with its horribly bleak ambient lighting . No wonder the slytherin are as evil as they are having to live in this atmosphere. When Malfoy arrived in such a hostile manner she had panicked. No one was around to hear her scream or help her combat her enemy. Yet he did not attack her or give any indication that her presence posed any threat to him. Instead they argued as usual about his mythical superiority and her natural giftedness for know-it-allism.

_Why had he encountered her if his intention did not include harming me? _Thought Hermione. Yet here she sits in the safety of a crowded great hall next to her best friends. Looking up with great wonderment she remembered something of the conversation. OH No. I have to speak in front of the entire school ! Despite her brave front Hermione did not handle performing in front of a crowd well. she suffered from a bit of stage fright . She stopped thinking about that encounter and joined in the conversation with Harry and Ron.


	2. A Needle in a Haystack

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters and setting

A/N: I did it, I came up with a second chapter and chapters three and four are in the works. A huge thank you for my reviewer, phoenixtear19.

Chapter Two

As I enter the library I am momentarily awed by the grandeur of the immense room. Easily my favorite place at Hogwarts, the library has impressed me with the amount of knowledge available. Hundreds of years of accounts collected for others to master. If ever I needed guidance it was now. What Malfoy has proposed will become his undoing. A rare opportunity for me to change the minds of the wizarding community and prevent my fellow classmates from turning into death eaters. If I can convince my misguided and feudal minded brethren to remove their superiority complex and accept that they are no more important then another witch and wizard then maybe I can convince them that persecution of their fellow classmates should cease. If I can change the pureblood's minds then maybe, just maybe, I can convince them to emancipate house elfs. First, I need to convince my classmates that blood does not matter and to do that I must unlock the key inspiration from this library. I know the answer remains hidden here. Within these shelves the inspiring words I need are entombed. After taking a huge cleansing breath to brace myself for what lies ahead I embark on my journey of discovery.

My first stop consists of a visit to the librarian, Madame Pince. The good witch that she is shares with me a love for seeking knowledge, the written word, and  Hogwarts A History. Madame Pince has worked here so long she must know where every type of book resides. As I approach her she looks up, recognizes me and smiles.

"Well hello Hermoine, no class this afternoon?" asks Madame Pince with a mixture of happiness and curiosity.

"No Madame Pince I do not have a class this afternoon."

"Ahh then you are here to finish some homework then. You are one of those rare gems who knows to have her homework done well ahead of time. I must say you are a real example to the lot here." Madame Pince continues to smile.

"yes," I smile " well I am doing an assignment of sorts and am curious as to where an argument for nonpureblood rights would be in this library."

" My dear, I don't think we have one of those." Looking a bit taken aback and off key Madame Pince makes her way to a podium which holds a magical parchment. " Let me check this parchment." Madame Pince smiles a reassuring smile which just doesn't quite convince either one of us that we are assured.

The magical parchment has the ability to recollect where every piece owned by the library resides. The parchment knows where every book sits and what is in every book. When a person picks up a quill and writes a question of inquiry about a book the parchment scratches a response back to the inquirer. I have wondered from time to time if Tom Riddle had not come about his idea for his journal based on how this magical parchment operates.

"Oh as I have guessed this library does not have in possession any information regarding nonpureblood rights. Though I do think you can frame your own argument for nonpureblood rights based on the opposition's argument."

"How would I do that!" I ask aghast.

"Well dear, state what your opposition does and then disprove what they state.

Tell what isn't so by showing how certain ideals and legislation don't accomplish what it intends or how such a viewpoint remains irrelevant."

"well why hasn't someone come along and done that or stand up for muggleborn and halfblood rights.?" I really had counted on this library having heavy documentation on this. "I mean how else has such biased disappeared in this generation."

"Isn't that one obvious. For the smartest witch of her age you can be thickheaded sometimes. The war has changed many peoples' ideas. The sheer magnitude of what he-who-will-remain-unnamed had done poisoned many to his cause. people became disillusioned and wanted for something else. When everyone had thought he-who-I-refuse-to-acknowledge had disappeared people dismissed his rhetoric. No one bothered to reiterate what the mass believed nor persuade those who believed differently. I am however curious as to why you are interested in this. You normally look towards the liberation of house elfs."

"Well, if you must know Malfoy and I are thinking on having a school wide debate and I need to crush him into oblivion in front of the entire school." I had not realized until I uttered those words how much I wanted to use his idea to destroy him.

Madame Pince looks just as shocked by my passionate outburst. After a brief pause Madame Pince recovers and exclaims. "what a marvelous and grand idea. A perfect way to revitalize the students and energize their focus back on academics and learning. Quite marvelous indeed."

About this time a first year interrupted us and Madame Pince turned her attention towards the first year and I, well I am left to my own devices. I head over to the parchment and make an inquiry to help facilitate my search. Most of the reading material I need resides in the restricted section. Since I cannot enter there without a note from a teacher I will have to leave those readings for another day. Or at least until I can speak with a professor. I run the possible candidates for my restricted section through my head. Prof. Sprout out, Prof. Flitwick out, Madame Hooch out, Prof. McGonagall maybe, Prof. Trelawney maybe, Prof. Snape who ever knows with that guy. My list of possible candidates does not look promising. I glide over to a little used portion of the library. No one comes here and the shelves are dusty from infrequent use. While turning a corner around a shelf, I run right into my least favorite person in the whole wide world...MALFOY.


	3. Encounter in the Library

**_A/N:_** have no fears, even though this tale is told while the protagonists are still in school the story will remain as close to canon as I can make it. A few changes will no doubt take place in my later chapters. c I will in future chapters explain how all _this_ takes place, look to my profile for a more thorough explanation. and thank you to my darling reviwers. Remenber all the more you review the better an idea I will have on the overall dirction of this story.

**Warrning: HBP Spoilers enclosed in this chapter **Ye be Warned

Chapter Three:

Encounter in the Library

_Draco's Perspective_

What is she doing here? Of course she is here were else would she be. The question is what am I doing here? Well, I do need a little help. Just one small detail and I will win the debate. I can not believe I bet her to a debate. Still I cant have her think I am here for that.

"See much or are mudbloods blind too"

I love my quick witted replies and I love the look that washes across her face. The effects of my words finally hitting home she betrays her muggle born heritage by showing her anger and frustration openly on her readable face. A face I have not had to see up close in a number of years.

"Whatever are you doing here Malfoy"

"Tormenting first years"

"They're all in class. Malfoy, what are you really up to?"

"Death eater business" I cannot have her know the truth, can I. Furthermore I do not think she would dear question that one.

"Death eater business. which includes a set of socio- political texts. (Granger leans in to me and whispers) not a very good cover for a nostalgic plan of death eater fame. (She backs away) not that any of your plans to date have been remarkable." I can not believe she smiles at her own remark. A person can at least have the decency to smirk after biting off a retort. Then again muggleborns are not decent.

"I am a man of many talents"

"I am sure you think so"

"And you don't."

"No, not at all"

This girl really should not be talking considering she has scrolls, parchments and quills in her arms.

"Another afternoon in the library granger? Did weasly go off with lavender brown again?" I may have been held up in my own world last year but word does get around this school.

"Why do you insist on tormenting me?"

"So Ron is with lavender brown, and I 'torment' you only because of utter boredom. why else would I bother with you" I smirk afterwards and give her a look that screams why do I bother with you.

"Deep seeded hatred, sadistic nature, any of those and more were my guess."

"That's the problem with you granger you guessed. really you should stop meddling in things that are not in books."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are we going to stand here all afternoon analyzing every action /thought we make and have made to date or are we going to utilize what precise free-time we have in preparing for our final argument?"

I do believe that is the longest I have spoken to her without interruption in the six years I have gon to school with her. I wonder what she has to say to that. Her facial expression gives away her loss of words. Her brain in its insignificance attempts to formulate a quick response. Oh...Too slow. I have to void out this silence before it jeopardizes her inactivity.

"Cat ran off with your tongue."

"What?"

"Just now an invisible cat came in here and swiped your tongue"

"You're beginning to sound like Luna Lovegood"

"Looney Luna?"

"Yeah her, she always has something peculiar to say"

"I am not like her at all"

"Whatever"

"You just do not want ot admit how insanely clever my remark is"

"Insanely clever...you stole that one just like everything else."

"See you are not willing to admit that I am cleverer than you."

"Do we really need to go back through the years and categorize every stupid thing you have done."

"None of which you ever figured out."

"How would you know?"

"legamancy"

"When did you get legamancy?"

"Always had it"

"Right... that explains everything"

"Doesn't it"

I say before I look in her eyes and see them rolling in their socket. I cannot believe she is humoring me and, and ,and worse, she is patronizing me!

Granger continues on in her mother to child manner explaining adnasium how much legamanicy has helped me steal this or that concluding her lengthy explanation with a "...Only you do not accomplish anything productive or good from your or any ones' minds."

I respond naturally with a "whatever serves my purposes can only be productive and beneficial."

I look around and notice a gaggle of people is observing the odd circumstance of granger and me together without one or more bodies deployed to the hospital wing. using my new found legmancy (i.e. wordless magic to cast a send thoughts into another head spell my darling aunt bellatrix showed me over the summer) I announced our little problem and she with a hundredth -I see she still retains her course muggle ways- storms off to her favorite section of The library. I lean against a bookcase with in both ear shot and visual of granger and contemplate my next strategy. I begain to contimplate how this whole debacle started.

Flashback

as I eat my lunch in the over crowded great hall I observe with a certain distancing as Crabbe and Goyle recount our cornering and conversation with the head girl to Blaise Zambibi. Blaise in his usual manner always acts above my two goons a trait I approve of whole hardly just as long as blaise does not think too highly of himself. after all I am worlds better then him. he surprisingly scoffs at the goons tail and turns to me in his usual conceited manner,

"why would you act so stupidly Draco?"

Shocked I respond with a quizzical " in what way is what I do stupid?"

"You know what I mean. besides Hermoinie is not your typical Mudblood. she deserves to be here and besides she _is _Head Girl which means she can take away house points mate. And I know you don't want to be the one to blame if our house does not win this year."

"Slytherine has not won the house cup in a number of years of I dought very much that anyone will care. besides no one likes me here anyway so what difference would it make?"

"People may not like you but the slytherines respect you and all the hufflepuffs fear you. the ravenclause leave you alone and.."

"Everyone leaves me alone except you blokes."

I had to interrupt him before he reminded me again as to the way the entire school feels about me. after all I don't care what they think its what the dark lord thinks that is crucial. With Prof. Sanpe gone I have to continue on where he left off. which means getting on the headmasters good side, somehow. At least Mcgonigal is a fair old witch.

"since when do you defend Granger Blaise?"

"since I got to know her in the slug club."

Thanks for reminding me of our horrible head of house. I did not say that out load cause I just can not go about insulting the head of house just because I am mad that snape isn't here and the fact that he actually told the truth. well I mean I always knew he almost never lied but come on ...

I look up and notice a very odd occurrence, well a couple actualy. the fact that when I looked up my eyes instantly focused on Granger, the second granger facing towards me and the third most surprising is that she is looking right at ME! I scan the room instantly in my least obviose manner and am shocked at what jsut occured. In my wold that is the most cliche thing to do and this is supposed to be real life here.

"Draco, Draco, **Draco**!"

Pancy can yell if she wants to and having iher yell in my ear is not how I want to come back to reality."

End Flashback

As I reminisce on my delightful conversation with the always attention filled Pansy I see a movement before my eyes. I readjust my focus and identify the movement as belonging to Granger. she pulled a hand held mirror from her book bag and looking around the library in the most suspicious manner before leaning into the glass and communicating with it. As granger talked more and more animatedly with the glass I became more and more curios. I natural know what devise she has. Enchanted mirrors are not as uncommon as one would think and two way mirrors as this one no dought is are very commonplace. yet here at Hogwarts they are a banned device. The head Girl possessing one much less using a banned device brings out my curios side and I am inclined to eavesdrop on her conversation. its not like I have not done so before or anything. As I make my Sly way over towards here the second biggest surprise of my day comes upon me. His Voice reverberating through my head long afterwards. because the person she communicates with is no other then Harry Potter.


End file.
